DANVILLE, Pa. — American Legion Post 40 is focused on helping veterans all year. The holiday nursing home visit is one of the highlights of the year for both Legion members and veterans inside area nursing homes.
"We go make sure they're not forgotten and say thank you for your service. Sometimes, this could be the only person that goes to visit them the whole entire year," American Legion member David Callahan said.
"To have an old veteran lay there in bed and salute you just as smart as he would if he was 20 years old, it brings tears to their eyes because somebody came to see them," Grant Fritz said.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Legion cannot go into nursing homes this year, so they came up with another idea.
"We're going to make a video and give it to each individual nursing home and ask them to play it for the veterans," Callahan said.
Callahan is making the video for veterans in area nursing homes. He is asking elected officials and people in the community to submit short videos thanking the vets for their service.
"The key thing is, what would you say if you had a person in front of you and you wanted to say thank you for your service? Do you feel comfortable singing a song or reading a poem? We want to entertain and tell the veterans thank you," Callahan said.
The video will be sent to nursing homes in the Danville area, and wherever else it is requested.
"It's the only thing we can do to help them out," Fritz said.
Callahan would like to finish the video in the next two weeks. If you would like to send in a video clip, email Dave Callahan at callaha@yahoo.com or call him at 570-271-1145.